It’s offical - ELFT is rated outstanding

Bev Creagh

Staff at East London NHS Foundation Trust (ELFT) are celebrating after being rated outstanding by the Care Quality Commission.

The Trust was commissioned in 2015 to provide services in Luton and Bedfordshire and was the only mental health and community health trust in the East of England to gain such a high mark.

It has overseen an extensive improvement programme including creating same-sex wards and increasing the number of beds for those requiring adult acute inpatient care. It has also recruited 550 new staff, opened a psychiatric intensive care unit and brought Luton’s Oakley Court back into service.

The Commission’s assessment team were impressed by the calibre of leadership in the Trust and felt the diversity of its board reflected the make-up of local communities. They found staff to be enthusiastic and hardworking, genuinely committed to improving services with an appetite for innovation.

They rated the Trust exceptional with regard to care and compassion for patients.

ELFT chief executive Dr Navina Evans said she was delighted that staff had been recognised by this fantastic acheivement and added: “We have worked hard to ensure we provide a high standard of care and we continuously review what we do to learn to do it better. We have a long way to go and this will spur us on.”

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